09 March 2007

30 Days with Linux

"Complaining about Windows Vista is a national past time on Internet forums these days. Windows Vista "costs too much," "has onerous product activation," "requires too much hardware," etc. These complaints are often followed up by a very simple boast: "I'm just going to switch to Linux (or Mac)."

But in today's landscape, how viable is that statement? Is the threat to switch to Linux an empty one, or is it entirely possible? Linux on the desktop has been viable for years, especially for programming gurus who can solve their Linux problems by simply writing new software. It also seems to be viable for “Mom and Pop” end-users who just want a machine to write letters, send email, and browse the Web (although, admittedly, a guru will probably have to set it up for them).

Will the consumer really switch to Linux over Vista's annoyances? I believe a few will but the majority won't - this isn't an operating system for the easily frustrated. Certainly the group of people who get easily frustrated at the thought of increased DRM in the Vista system and the group of people who would get frustrated at the Linux learning curve probably overlap a great deal.

However, for those who stick it out throughout the learning curve period, the rewards are great."